destination on the Baltic Way, therefore they linked hands wherever they were at the time, thus creating rather symbolic branches from the main road. It is said that the hu- man chain from Vilnius to Tallinn could be seen from space. “We have never been so big” — these were the poetic words of Justinas Marcinkevičius, confi rming this truth.

On that same day, 23 August, Sąjūdis and the fronts announced a joint appeal to the peoples of the world. It stated: “Brothers and sisters in the East and West, we are prepared to forget about your double standards if you could fi nd the courage within Lithuanian yourselves to demand the application of international legislation not only in Africa and Asia, but also in Europe”. This appeal was sent to the United Nations. Collectors Coins

COIN DEDICATED TO THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BALTIC WAY (FROM THE SERIES “LITHUANIA’S ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE”)

50 litas coin: 25 litas coin: Silver Ag 925 Copper, aluminium, zinc and tin alloy Quality proof Cu/Al/Zn/Sn Diameter 38.61 mm Quality proof-like Monument in Estonia Monument in Lithuania to commemorate the Baltic Way Weight 28.28 g Diameter 28.00 mm Inscription on the edge of the coin: Weight 10.00 g to commemorate the EESTI LATVIJA LIETUVA The edge of the coin is rimmed Baltic Way Mintage 4,000 Mintage 25,000

Grim threats came from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Issued in 2014 Union. However, the reformist circles in Russia and the other USSR republics showed Designed by Eglė Ratkutė and Giedrius Paulauskis sympathy for the determination of the Baltic peoples. Moral support came from many other countries as well. It can be said that the Baltic Way accelerated the whole proc- Information is available at the Bank of Lithuania ess of the decay of the Soviet system. On 9 November 1989, the infamous Berlin Wall Tel. (8 5) 268 0316 collapsed, and by the end of the year, full sovereignty was regained by almost all of E-mail [email protected] COIN DEDICATED TO THE 25TH the so-called former Warsaw Pact countries, the Soviet satellite states. Finally, on 24 www.lb.lt ANNIVERSARY OF THE BALTIC WAY December 1989, the Second Congress of People’s Deputies recognized the existence (FROM THE SERIES “LITHUANIA’S ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE”) of the Molotov-Ribbentrop secret protocols, condemning them as a “legally invalid and void from the moment of their signing”. This way the Soviet Union formally dis- The coin was minted at the UAB Lithuanian Mint tanced itself from the actions that were the basis for the 1940 occupation and annexa- www.lithuanian-mint.lt tion of the Baltic States. But the Soviet empire did not want to free the Baltic States, opposing this in every way until in the autumn of 1991 it collapsed itself. Lithuanian Collectors Coins © Lietuvos bankas, 2014 The coins were photographed by Arūnas Baltėnas A quarter of a century has passed since the Baltic Way. This action will remain in Designed by Liudas Parulskis the history of mankind as one of the most impressive testimonies of how peace can The publication uses photos by Jonas Juknevičius, Egidijus Malakauskas and Vladas Ščiavinskas from the overcome the most powerful machine of violence. Given the historical importance Lithuanian Central State Archives, photos from the Lithuanian news agency ELTA, Wikimedia.org and and uniqueness of the event, the Baltic Way is included in the UNESCO Memory of the Andrius Ufartas (BFL)

World Register. Published by the Bank of Lithuania, Gedimino pr. 6, LT-01103 Vilnius Printed by UAB Lodvila, www.lodvila.lt Dr Česlovas Laurinavičius The Baltic Way was a human chain of linked hands stretching from Vilnius to Tallinn, made making decisions, the voices of the small republics were drowned in the sea of the th up of the people of three small nations — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This peaceful mass indifferent majority. During the congress though, demand for the creation of a com- 25 Anniversary of the demonstration was their silent reminder of themselves to the world — that they were prison- mittee to study the 1939 USSR and German treaties was successful, but the activities ers, forgotten by all and imprisoned for 50 years. The Baltic Way was a triumph of democratic of the committee were clearly dragged out. At that time, deep within the USSR, in self-determination. the Semipalatinsk polygon, one after another powerful nuclear explosions thundered, almost as if a warning that the Soviet empire would not surrender peacefully. Baltic Way The fate of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as independent states, was sealed on 23 August and 28 September 1939 in Moscow with the signing of treaties between Nazi Germany and the Stalinist Soviet Union — the so-called Molotov-Ribentropp secret protocols, which es- tablished spheres of influence. These protocols created the basis for the occupation and an- nexation of the Baltic States in the summer of 1940 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). To the international community the protocols were no secret, but the USSR firmly denied their existence for 50 years.

With the 50th anniversary of the 1939 treaty between the USSR and Germany, the Baltic republics fostered the idea to organise a campaign of such a scale that the So- viet bureaucracy could not remain silent on that date or pretend that the protocols were only relevant to a few groups in the Baltic republic societies. The idea of a living human chain gradually matured. Concrete decisions were made during the meetings At the end of the 20th c. the Soviet Union experienced a deep crisis and the leader, Mikhail of the Lithuanian Sąjūdis and the Latvian and Estonian people’s fronts on 15 July 1989 Gorbachev, decided on radical reforms, the so-called perestroika, i.e. democratisation of the in Pärnu (Estonia) and 12 August in Cēsis (Latvia). By the way, a kind of “rehearsal” for a totalitarian Soviet system. The Baltic nations were finally given the opportunity to speak out linked-hand chain has been done before: a symbolic ecological campaign in September about their history and the deprivation of their sovereignty. 1988, Apjuoskime Baltiją (“Embrace the Baltic”), in the form of a human chain along the Baltic Sea coast, including participants not only from the Baltic republics, but also Finland, For the first timeever the secret protocols were spoken about in Vilnius on 23 August 1987 Sweden, Germany and Poland. by small dissident groups. Exactly a year later, in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, large rallies were held: they were organised by newly-created democratic movements which united all segments of Therefore, on 23 August 1989, at 19:00 local time, a living chain stretched from Vilnius the population. In Lithuania — Sąjūdis, in Latvia and Estonia — people’s fronts. This way the (Gediminas Hill) through Riga (Freedom Monument) to Tallinn (Toompea Castle) and great secret of the problem of the Baltic countries was revealed. And the world noticed. But the stayed for about 15–20 minutes. It connected almost 2 million people, in Lithuania alone bureaucratic machine of the USSR continued to deny the existence of the secret protocols. — about a million. In the territory of Lithuania almost 60 thousand automobiles trans- ported the participants. The effect was enhanced by two planes that dropped flowers In May–June 1989 Moscow held the Congress of People’s Deputies; the election of its del- on those standing together below. Even though such massive movement created traffic egates was freer than had been before in the Soviet Union. The delegations of the Baltic jams on some highways, there were no unfortunate accidents. Order was maintained by Ukmergė republics were obligated by their voters to demand that the sovereignty of the nations be the inspection of road transport, coordination took place over the national radio. Nev- highway near restored. However, at the meeting the demands of the Baltic delegations were ignored. In Vilnius ertheless, due to the traffic and other reasons, many people were unable to reach their